World Cup 2010 Blog: So That’s Why John Harkes Didn’t Go to World Cup ‘98. (Allegedly.)

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So That’s Why John Harkes Didn’t Go to World Cup ‘98. (Allegedly.) Posted: 04 Feb 2010 12:40 PM PST Do you like the word “alleged”? I hope so, because I’m going to use it a lot in the next paragraph. The bombshell that is John Terry’s alleged affair with Wayne Bridge’s one time girlfriend sent ripples across the Atlantic ocean earlier this week, where former USA striker Eric Wynalda alleged that former USA captain John Harkes did something similar and had an affair with Wynalda’s wife before the 1998 World Cup. “There’s a lot of similarities between what happened to us in ‘98 and what’s happening now to England,” Wynalda told the AP. “It’s an unfortunate time for England, because I know how that can affect a team firsthand. Obviously, we all know how we did in the World Cup in ‘98.” Which would – finally – explain USA coach Steve Sampson’s seemingly mental decision to leave “captain for life” (I kid you not) John Harkes out of the USA’s 1998 World Cup squad. As Wynalda alluded, the 1998 World Cup did not go well for the USA. It’s best remembered for the 3-6-1 formation, losing to Germany, Iran and Yugoslsavia, and finishing bottom of Group F. Steve Sampson took most of the blame, and now seems relieved that this story is finally out there. “Maybe people will have a little better of an understanding of what happened in the final months leading up to the World Cup … “I felt that these are the kinds of issues that need to stay in the locker room and within the team and not (be) exposed to the public,” Sampson said. “The private issues for me were the most serious issues. I think I could have lived with everything else and kept John on the team if it had not been for the private issues. It’s one thing to have an affair outside the team. It’s another to have one inside. … There are just certain lines that one cannot cross.” Again, remember this is all “alleged” right now. So we’ll tread carefully. Sampson may have been right or wrong to drop Harkes without revealing the real reason at the time. (He cited “leadership issues”, which is vague enough to be true I suppose.) You could even say it’s honourable that Sampson took the heat for dropping Harkes, allowing Hakres to be the victim and himself to be the bad guy. But what this proves – once again – is that we never really know what’s going on in football. Despite the seemingly endless media coverage of the beautiful game, we never have the full picture. Teams, coaches and players only ever show us a tiny slice of the pie, so there is a multitude of events that take place behind closed doors, with no one present to report it. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that. Quite the opposite, because not everything needs to be public knowledge. But I think it’s worth reminding ourselves while we’re blogging and commenting away, or even reporting on events in mainstream media, that we probably don’t know even half of what’s really happening.

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11-Page Super Bowl Extra: Saints vs. Colts analysis, stats, betting tips and more

MAMUDU, Your February 05, 2010 issue of Sporting News Today is now available, please click here. Here are some articles in Today's Issue 38 NFL players, ex-players make their Super Bowl predictions Guest columnist Torry Holt: Heart says 'Saints, but mind says 'Colts Joba says he'll fight to be Yanks' fifth starter SN's Deveney on trade rumors for Mavs' Howard Custance: Moving Kovalchuk was painful, but Thrashers had no choice If you experience any problems with your issue, please click here to contact our customer service department. Know a friend who might like Sporting News Today? Email him/her this link: www.sportingnewstoday.com.     Trouble Viewing? If any of the above links do not work for you,   copy and paste this URL into your browser:   http://today.sportingnews.com/t=c/?1&121171&156089&18836&0000&1236490165&EIInjEOx9cS45     Please do not reply to this message. Questions may be submitted to Digital Support.   To stop receiving email notifications for digital issues of Sporting News Today,   click here.   Sporting News Today 120 West Morehead Street Suite 200 Charlotte, NC 28202

World Cup 2010 Blog: World Cup Moment: Jimmy Greaves Turns Dog-Catcher in 1962

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World Cup Moment: Jimmy Greaves Turns Dog-Catcher in 1962 Posted: 03 Feb 2010 12:10 PM PST The Chile 1962 World Cup quarterfinal between England and holders Brazil was just a few minutes old when play was stopped by a canine pitch invasion. Somehow a stray dog was on the field of play and was proving difficult to catch, avoiding Brazil keeper Gilmar and – most remarkably – teaching Garrincha himself a thing or two about dropping the shoulder and accelerating away from your pursuer. England striker Jimmy Greaves took a different approach, dropping on to all fours and slowly inching towards the dog before – gently but firmly – wrestling it to the ground and handing it over to the officials. Video below: Possibly my favourite thing about this World Cup moment is the BBC commentary from (I think) Kenneth Wolstenholme. Whether deliberately or not, he narrates the pursuit of the dog as if it were part of the actual game. “Now Jimmy Greaves… will he? … Well done Jimmy!” Great stuff. You may also notice that Greaves can be seen shaking his hands after passing the dog to officials. That’s because the dog apparently – what’s the polite term? – urinated all over Greaves during their little wrestling match. So Greaves played the rest of the World Cup quarterfinal smelling of dog wee. Nice. Legend has it that Garrincha found this incident so amusing that he later adopted the dog. However, there’s not a great deal of evidence to back this up, and as the website Garrinchas Dog suggests: Although this tale has been the subject of many column inches, I'm not entirely sure that it's true. The winger was attacked by a dog as child; it seems unlikely that he would want offer shelter to a stray – even one with a well-developed sense of humour. What’s definitely true is that Garrincha went on to score two goals as Brazil beat England 3-1 and went on to win their second World Cup: - More World Cup Moments can be found here.

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Not dead yet, USC rebounds with stellar recruiting class

MAMUDU, Your February 04, 2010 issue of Sporting News Today is now available, please click here. Here are some articles in Today's Issue National Signing Day surprises, rankings, analysis Saints' Payton scripts NFL's best offense Colts' unknown DTs carry keys to success Colts, Saints practice reports Custance: Trade deadline dominoes are falling early If you experience any problems with your issue, please click here to contact our customer service department. Know a friend who might like Sporting News Today? Email him/her this link: www.sportingnewstoday.com.     Trouble Viewing? If any of the above links do not work for you,   copy and paste this URL into your browser:   http://today.sportingnews.com/t=c/?1&121124&156062&18816&0000&1236490141&EIInjEOx9cS45     Please do not reply to this message. Questions may be submitted to Digital Support.   To stop receiving email notifications for digital issues of Sporting News Today,   click here.   Sporting News Today 120 West Morehead Street Suite 200 Charlotte, NC 28202

World Cup 2010 Blog: “World Cup Moments: When Harald Schumacher Met Patrick Battiston. In Mid-Air.” plus 1 more

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World Cup Moments: When Harald Schumacher Met Patrick Battiston. In Mid-Air. Posted: 02 Feb 2010 01:40 PM PST The 1982 World Cup semifinal in Seville between France and West Germany was a stunning game of football. It finished 3-3 after extra time, and then West Germany won (as usual) on penalties. Despite those six goals, the semifinal is mostly remembered for just one thing. Germany goalkeeper Harald Schumacher’s horror foul on French defender Patrick Battiston. I say horror foul.. the ref actually gave a goal kick to West Germany. Which you’ll probably find hard to believe after watching video of the Schumacher crushing his victim below: Michel Platini sent a beauty of a through ball through the German defence, which set up a race between Battiston and Schumacher. Battiston got there first and knocked the ball just wide, but Schumacher continued his charge forward and flattened the French defender. I’m thinking penalty and red card. The ref thought goal kick. Sean Connery (is that him narrating the vid? I think it is) was not impressed. Here it is again from an understanably outraged French perspective: Battiston was knocked unconscious, lost two teeth and suffered damage to his vertebrae. Schumacher hasn’t said a great deal about the incident, but has maintained he was going for the ball. I wish it was easy to believe him, but the lateness and the way he moves his body towards Battiston in mid-air makes it difficult. The good news is that Battiston recovered and continued to play professional for another nine years. West Germany went on to lose to Italy in the final of the 1982 World Cup, but that game (and specifically Marco Tardelli’s celebration) is the subject of a whole ‘nother post. - More World Cup Moments can be found here.

Akon, Fernando & Didier Wage Charitable War With Music & Paint Balls Posted: 02 Feb 2010 12:00 PM PST [Futbolita] Pepsi & Akon have released a single for the World Cup – a single which may or may not be the official song via conflicting reports – and the proceeds will go entirely to charity. The track also features Keri Hilson, the Soweto Gospel Choir and “16 other musicians” apparently not quite yet noteworthy. It is, as one super smart sleuth might able to tell by the title, about Africa. Oh. Fernando Torres & Didier Drogba were asked to kick exploding paint balls against a wall for the shoot, paint balls which then magically formed the faces of football’s biggest superstars in various stages of constipation. Strangely, they also chose Thierry Henry for the wall. Might be best for the World Cup PR team to simply pretend he’s not even there this go ’round… Even more strangely, Akon & Didier are BFF’s – didn’t Akon hear that god-awful Drogbacite album? does the man have no musical scruples? oh, wait… – and have collaborated before on some casual dancing.

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